Bell squares away mechanical, mental issues

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

MIAMI -- Mentally and physically, Heath Bell feels he is back. The next step is to get on the mound and lock down that first save.

Bell did that in Tuesday night's 5-2 win over the Cubs, tossing a perfect ninth. On Sunday morning, the day after he watched a three-run lead in the ninth inning disappear against the Astros, Bell was on the field making some adjustments.

"I looked at video tape Saturday night," Bell said.

Pitching coach Randy St. Claire also watched tape of Bell from 2011. The fact that the two are working together for the first time, they did a lot of talking on Sunday and then made an adjustment to eliminate a little hop Bell was doing.

"Mechanically, I didn't really see anything major," Bell said. "Then I just watched me two years ago. I watched the whole season I pitched."

What Bell noticed about his early outings now is his pitches have been flat. On Sunday, Bell talked with St. Claire and catcher John Buck, getting their input.

"I said, 'We need to go on the field and we need to fix this,'" Bell said. "I found exactly what I was doing. I was just jumping a little too much and things were flat.
We made the adjustment, and I had the downward angle again."

Physically, Bell feels he is ready. Mentally, he was inspired by a Facebook message left by his wife, Nicole, who is in San Diego. She basically left a moving, personal message about how much they've overcome to be in the position they're in now.

"Emotionally, my wife wrote me a letter that really helped me out," the closer said. "The mental part, she helped me out with that."

Ozzie: Cora capable of more than part-time gig

MIAMI -- Filling in for Ozzie Guillen is nothing new for Marlins bench coach Joey Cora.

Throughout the years, starting with the White Sox and now in Miami, Cora has managed when Guillen wasn't available. Cora guided the Marlins when Guillen served his five-game suspension, which ended before Tuesday's opener with the Cubs.

Guillen makes it clear that Cora could manage in the big leagues on more than a temporary basis.

For selfish reasons, Guillen wants Cora to stick around as his bench coach.

"I hope he's not a big league manager for another four years, because I want him and I need him," Guillen said, referring to his own four-year contract. "But I never deny how much I want Joey Cora to be a manager. You know when you have a kid and he graduates from college? That's going to be my proudest day, to see my best friend have his goal being made.

"Believe me, it surprises me he doesn't have a job yet. If I'm a big league manager, Joey Cora should be a big league manager."

Stanton hits sixth as Marlins shake up lineup

MIAMI -- The first order of business for Ozzie Guillen after being reinstated as Marlins manager was shaking up the lineup.

The biggest change is Guillen dropped Giancarlo Stanton from cleanup to sixth, and inserted Logan Morrison into the No. 4 spot. Stanton entered Tuesday 2-for-10 in the homestand, compared to Morrison's 5-for-9.

The move also puts a left-handed bat behind Hanley Ramirez, who bats third.

"I moved Stanton a little bit to make him relax a little bit, and to take advantage of the way LoMo is swinging the bat right now," Guillen said. "LoMo gives some lefty protection to Ramirez, and that's the reason we did it.

"Hopefully, pretty soon, we'll move those guys back to where they should be."

With Guillen, performance will dictate where players hit in the lineup.

"If I don't like the way you play, I bench you," the manager said. "I have to take more advantage of the production from one to another. I like the way LoMo is swinging the bat right now."

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.